Toothbrush



13, 1964 A. H. BRENNESHOLTZ 3,152,349

TOOTHBRUSH Filed July 22, 1963 FIG. FIG.2 FIG.3

INVENTOR AARON HOUSE BRENN ESHOLTZ BY AGENT United States Patent Oflice Patented Oct. 13, 1964 3,152,349 TOOTHBRUSH Aaron House Brennesholtz, Ridgewood, N.J., assignor to E. 1. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, DeL, akorporation of Delaware Filed July 22, 1963, Ser. No. 296,595 1 Claim. (Cl. 15167) This invention relates to improvements in toothbrushes and the like, and more particularly to toothbrushes having flexible bristle carrying sections.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a toothbrush better adapted to conform to the contour of the teeth, thereby entering the spaces between the teeth for proper cleaning action.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description and in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification and of which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view;

FIG. 2 is a side view, partly in section, on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the action of the brush in use.

The toothbrush includes a handle 16 having at one end thereof a rigid bristle supporting portion 11. The rigid bristle supporting portion 11 has flexibly connected thereto by hinges 12, 13, two bristle supporting portions 14, 15. The bristle supporting portions 14, 15 are located within the rigid bristle supporting portion 11. The bristle supporting portion 11 contains tufts of bristles 15. The bristle supporting portions 14, 15 contain tufts of bristles 17. The tufts of bristles 17 are longer than the tufts of bristles 16 to enable them to reach into the crevices between teeth. The tufts of bristles 1d are of a more flexible material than the tufts of bristles 17 so that damage to gum tissue will be avoided.

The handle 10, rigid bristle supporting section 11, hinges 12, 13 and bristle supporting sections 14 and 15 (not including the bristles) are preferably made integral and are of an elastic resilient material such as polyoxymethylene so that the handle 10 and bristle supporting portions 11, 14, and 15 are essentially rigid while the hinges 12, 13 are quite flexible.

The bristle tufts 17 act independently of the bristle tufts 16. The action produced by the bristle tufts 17 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The resiliently mounted bristle supporting sections coact to permit the tufts of bristles which they support to accommodate themselves to the teeth which have a generally convex or concave overall configuration. The two hinged bristle supporting sections each coact to reinforce the effect of the other through a spring-like action. For example, as the bristle tufts supported by the member 14 are directed inwardly, thus depressing the member 14, the bristle tufts of the member 15 are free to move outwardly under engagement With the teeth and thus penetrate the crevices between the teeth being brushed.

In manufacture, the body of the toothbrush may be molded directly in the fonn shown or it may be molded as a solid block and the slot between the parts may be sawed out. In any event, the slot between the bristle sections serves to permit ease of cleaning of the toothbrush thus promoting a higher level of sanitation.

What I claim as my invention is:

A toothbrush comprising an integral elongated handle formed of acetal resin, said handle being provided at one end thereof with an elongated main bristle supporting section, said main bristle supporting section being provided with a plurality of longitudinal rows of elongated bristle tufts, said main bristle supporting section having a forward and a rearward portion, said main bristle supporting section having disposed between said plurality of longitudinal rows of bristle tufts a first and a second longitudinally extending secondary bristle supporting section, said first secondary bristle supporting section being integrally connected to said forward portion of said main bristle supporting section, said second secondary bristle supporting section being integrally connected to said rearward portion of said main bristle supporting section, said first and second secondary bristle supporting sections being provided with a plurality of elongated bristle tufts arranged in a single longitudinal row, said last named bristle tufts being of greater length than said first named bristle tufts, said first and second secondary bristle supporting sections having integral resilient portions positioned at the point where said secondary bristle supporting sections are connected to said main bristle supporting section to permit coaction between said secondary bristle supporting sections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,323,042 Gardner Nov. 25, 1919 1,664,797 Stone Apr. 3, 1928 2,266,195 Hallock Dec. 16, 1941 2,676,350 Bressler Apr. 27, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 707,727 France Apr. 20, 1931 

